


The Cards We're Given

by depressingbrew



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, College Student Keith (Voltron), M/M, Paramedic Lance, mechanic keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-15
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-12-30 02:19:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12098547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/depressingbrew/pseuds/depressingbrew
Summary: The only reason he didn't look away was because his eyes were practically glowing,  they looked like they had LED's hidden behind them, unrealistically bright in such dim light. If it was anyone else, Keith doesn't think he would of made it, but Lance was too distracting, too everything for him to slip away just yet. From the way you could only see his freckles when the light hit his face right, to when Keith got him to make his goofy smile, his heart felt full (not like he had a metal rod through is torso or anything). Maybe its the blood loss that's making Keith sappy.





	The Cards We're Given

**Author's Note:**

> Warning! This fic describes a motorcycle accident, and what follows. Beware of your own mental health!

Keith’s life wasn’t anything near perfect. But he’d like to think he got pretty lucky with the hand he was dealt. His first card was the “foster kid”, but he was lucky because he got Shiro, basically Keith’s entire support system. Shiro sacrificed so much for Keith, and everyday Keith spent healthy, well fed and educated, he put towards paying him back. His best friend Matt, came from a long line of tinkerers, and eventually inherited their family auto shop, the Holts were happy to give Shiro anything, least of all a job. When Keith first joined Shiro to make their weird family, they struggled a lot. Keith knew there were reasons more than southern hospitality why they ate at the Holt’s every night. 

It wasn’t long until Keith picked up wrench and started piecing together old vehicles and parts with Katie- or Pidge now. Eventually he landed himself with an actual job and with his most prized possession- Red. Red was everything that Shiro couldn’t give him that life had taken away. Red gave him a reason to work hard to earn his own money, and Shiro’s no school no work policy gave him a reason to raise his grades. Red is the reason he’s now writing his thesis in university. Red gave him the motivation he couldn’t find from Shiro. It gave him freedom and adventure you don’t find as a city kid. 

After all the things Red had given him, he didn’t expect her to take away anything from him. 

He’s not really sure how he got here, he knows he’s in a shitload of trouble. He feels a sort tingly sensation, and it’s really dim all the sudden. He remembers taking the longer scenic route- oh he was going to meet Shiro’s girlfriend! Fuck! He’d been such a pansy over introducing everyone to her, and finally decided to introduce them all at once. Keith was supposed to tame those grease monkeys! 

He tries to move a bit and instantly his head is slammed with vertigo. Nope, not doing that again on his own accord. Keith tries to do take deep breathes, and not think about whatever is on top of him, there goes not having any irrational fears. Tight spaces will never be his friend again. He lets his mind wander, trying not slip away.

“Hey there!” Keith is slammed back into reality, it was obvious some time had passed. He opens his eyes a crack. 

“Hey… HEY! He’s responsive!” Keith hears some whoops a bit more distant than the center voice. He blinks a little and tries to turn.

“No no no, you can’t move buddy!” The voice yells frantically. “If you have to, slowly turn your neck”, Keith follows the instructions to see a blurry face. His eyes slowly focus on a pair of bright blue ones, if he were thinking right, he’d be suspicious, they were glowing like they had blue LED twinkies behind them. He thinks maybe they might be the only reason he doesn’t slip back. 

“Hey there, thats a nice head of hair you have, do you remember your name?”

Keith blinks a few times, his voice is so smooth, his ears are still ringing but its like hes being healed, the other guy’s face starts to slip into a frown, “Ke..ith..”, he croaks out, and instantly the eyes are like fourth of july fireworks that are let off at the waterfront. 

“Good! Nice to meet you Keith, I’m Lance, unfortunately i wish it were under better circumstances.” He chuckles with a grin that completes the whole package. “Keith, can you tell me your last name?”

“Ko-gane… Shiro. I need shiro!” He rasps out, he forgot completely for a second, god damn it, Shiro is going to kill him! 

“Keith, Keith! Mullethead!” That got Keith’s attention. “You need to calm down okay? Look at me, I’m right here. You panicking isn’t going to help either of us okay? Can you tell me who Shiro is?” Keith’s brain still haywire, he did not have a mullet first of all.

“M’bro… no, he’s m’foster guardian… emergency contact.” Keith garbled out. The tingling is getting more intense. 

“Okay, okay, I got a guy looking into it right now, I’m gonna stay with you okay?”

“Please. W-why am I tingly?” He looks into the ocean blue eyes to find sadness.

 

“Keith, you were in a very bad accident. Right now your body is in shock. Do you know what shock is?”

“S’when your body is protect’n you.” 

“Good, good! So you won’t feel any pain, and my buddies are trying to get you out of here, just trying to preserve that gorgeous face, mm kay?”

“What… what happened to me?” Keith swallows a big lump his throat. 

Lance pauses, “There was a utility vehicle with an oversize load, and it’s brakes gave out on the hill, and the load flipped over it, and hit a car behind you, and then you.”

Keith felt dizzy. “Hey, HEY!” Lance ducked up from the position on his stomach speaking to someone, “Hey Keith!” Keith looked at him he felt the panic, “You gotta calm down, say, what type of bike do you have?” 

“Made ‘er…” Keith thinks fondly of Red, his words slurring heavily.

“Yourself!? Man, if I don’t much about them, but I know a fine piece of work when I see one.” Lance whistles, “Hey guys, the bike is a salvage!” There is some whistles from the background, making Keith’s lips creep up into a smile. At least some people appreciate his lost hard work, he tries not think about how trashed Red is.

“M’bro- Shiro, he’s a mechanic, I work at the shop for a spare buck, she's just a collection, and some hard work.” Keith mumbles. 

“Well, that collection and hard work saved your life when your helmet didn’t. I don’t even know how it happened, but she landed so your skull wouldn’t be crushed when your helmet got thrown off.”

Keith stared at him, his mouth open. Red saved him? This wasn’t the joker card he was dealt for having her, it was the ace card she gave him. Keith felt teardrop fall down his face. Lance smiled endearingly at him. “I’ll be really quick right back.” He was gone in a flash that made him a little dizzy. 

“Keith? You still here?” Keith focuses in on the freckles on his face. They consisted of a beautiful light dusting, that he could only see when the light shone on his face just right. He heard metal creaking and a bunch noise filled his ear, and oh yeah he’s screaming, and yeah lance is yelling at someone to stop something, so he’ll probably stop screaming. 

“Keith, Keith, Sorry beautiful, something must be wrong we didn’t see. Can you try and do me a favour? It might hurt.” Keith nods slowly and dizzily in answer to Lance’s requests. He thinks it's the flirting that makes him compliant, or maybe the fact he’s still in shock, “Alright, I need you to try and wiggle your feet, I can't see your toes because of your boots, very stylish by the way, so try and move your ankles.” Keith ignores the compliment and tries his best to move his ankles only. 

“Good good! Can you move your knees?” Keith tries to move his right leg, it twitches and he can lift it a teansy bit, but when he goes for the left, he lets out a cry of pain. “Alright alright! Your doing so well Keith! We’ll have you out soon okay?”

Lance moves to start to get up and “Please! Please stay.” Keith almost whimpers. He’s trapped under some fucking bullshit, if he whimpers, so be it because Keith isn’t afraid to admit now that he’s lingering in reality that he's fully fucking terrified. Lance gives him a pity look that Keith would most likely punch him for in any situation, but it’s that look that lets Keith know that he will, indeed stay.

“Thank you.” 

“Anything you need, Keith.”

It’s quiet for a second and he knows Lance is about to start calling his name again to make sure he isn’t drifting, “What happened... to the other drivers?” 

Lance hesitates, “The woman in the car behind you was paying attention, so she had a millisecond to grab her children. She broke her arm when she dived out of the way, the little boy twisted his ankle when she shoved him, but the baby is perfectly fine… Motherly instincts are amazing, reminds me of my own mother.” He chuckles. 

“And the utility vehicle?” 

Lance’s expression narrows, he looks almost angry, the beautiful features so distorted, it looked like someone cut up his smile and made a magazine collage to make him angry, unnatural. Keith wanted it to go away fast. “The driver jumped out, he minorly fractured his collarbone, and dislocated his shoulder, but should be fine…”

“But what?” 

Lance’s face looked a bit surprised, and Keith wanted to roll his eyes. This boy was as open as a book, every think he’s thinking was on his face. Although he didn’t- roll his eyes because the last time he tried, he saw black spots. 

“The vehicle had been up for a check for a year, as well there should not of been any trucks or vehiciles like that allowed on this road… don’t tell anyone I told you, you should know your a miracle.” 

Keith like reality was buffering slowly, but he was getting chunks of exposure that he couldn’t make out.

“KEITH! Where the fuck are they!?” He heard Lance yelling.

“La-ance…” 

“Hey hey, there going to get you out now okay? They have to saw apart what’s on top of you carefully, okay? I need you to keep looking at me no matter how bad you want to look.”

“T-tell me about ya ma,” Keith mumbles. “Y’said the woman reminds ya of her.” It’s through this sentence that Keith is self aware, through all the foggy cloudiness in his brain, of how much his texan twang is present. 

“Okay, deal. She’s the reason I’m here. Well physically in this country, and where my life choices led me to help your beautiful face.” Keith knows his face is red, but if it could be more red, it's now, with this second of clarity. Something loud happens above him and Lance starts to shout over it, Keith refuses to look at it. Instead he keeps his word and looks directly into the ocean orbs that Lance wants people to believe are his eyes. “See she's a Cuban refugee, but our dad is from Mexico, so me and my sister’s weren’t granted status, besides the youngest, Marisol, she was born in Cuba, luckily, I’m a dreamer- well under DACA I was able to go through university here, and work and live. Eventually I think I’ll try to apply for a work visa, maybe even a green card, hell maybe I’ll get married! Go on my honeymoon while it gets all sorted out. Although right now, I’m not sure If I want to go back to school…” Lance checks Keith quickly, making sure he's still cognate.

“I think you should.” 

“What?”

“Go to more school if you want. If you belong here, stay, if you were supposed to only be here for a while, then maybe it's time.” Keith says with a burst of energy. At that moment he's so involved in Lance, so focused on Lance, he doesn’t think his consciousness can focus on another thing. 

Lance is the last thing he sees before he's slipping. They’re done up top and he finally looks to find the last straw, is a metal rod sticking through his torso before Lance is holding him down, stabilizing the rod, and is yelling at whoever. 

The ambulance lapses in ocean blue eyes, still talking to him, he only catches glimpses of the soft smooth voice, but it's enough to hold on to. “Hey they found Shiro…. at the ... after surgery... alright?” 

“You too?” Lance chuckles, the relief in his voice evident when he hears Keith respond.

“You want me to come by after my shift?” 

“Yes…”

“Alright Keith, stay with me!” Keith looks up and Lance is probably the most beautiful thing he's ever seen, the light behind his head creating a halo, his eyes glowing, there is moisture on his face, but he's still grinning and it stole him away. “Un milagro…. You're a miracle Keith.”

“I’ll... try my best If.. if you go on a date with me?” He mumbles, taking the last bit of strength he has. 

“Keith... “ He looks at him, “Only if you make it through mullethead, you can collect your date on the other side so stay with me- Keith!” The darkness finally took him. He got his answer, and the last thing he saw was the only thing he ever needed to see again in his life. He just wished he could see it forever.  
-

He woke up to hushed chatting. He kept his eyes closed before be realized what was happening. The voices were familiar and comforting, like a warm blanket over his ears. As the fuzziness lifted he cracked his eyes open to see Shiro and the holts, crammed into a tiny room. It took a few seconds for him to recognize the white sterile walls. The image of a boy with a halo of light still haunting his memory, he couldn’t quite remember from where. 

Keith felt stiff and when he tried to move he grunted in pain, calling attention to the rest of the people in the room.

“Keith” Shiro almost whispered, the heartbreak in his voice alone. When Keith focused on his face he thought he might actually be sick. Shiro had red rimmed eyes and dark bags. His usually neat hair was messed up with anxiety. 

“You look like shit.” Shiro laughed a fake strangled laugh.

“You shouldn’t be talking.” He wasn’t even in his nice clothes, instead he was in sweats. Honestly, it looked like he hadn’t showered in days with the stumble growing on his face. Keith’s head hurt when he tried to think about how many days it had been.

“I’m going to get the doctor,” Matt, who had been in the corner literally eating his nails said. He scrambled out like the dork he was, in the only way Matt could unintentionally lighten the mood. 

“You idiot!” Pidge yells. Tears streaming down their face. Keith knows if he didn’t look so fragile right now, there would've definitely been a punch to the arm. “Stupid! Ugh you wouldn't believe how much I’m holding back from beating you up because they’d throw me out!” They yell our frustratedly. You don’t grow up with someone for nothing.

“I’m sorry.”

“Shut up! You did nothing wrong!” They yelled frustratedly kicking the wall, then hopping one foot to their claimed chair, to rub it better. From the chair they glare at Keith like he purposefully made them do that, like an evil mastermind.

“You loved that bike you had to become one with it Keithy?” Shiro chuckles at his own dad joke and he knows that Pidge is rolling their eyes from across the room.

“No Actually, they said Red protected me, that my brains would be all over the pavement if it wasn’t for her.” They were all silent for a moment.

“Do you remember… what happened?” Shiro asked hessentently. 

“I… remember a man?” Trying to think about it made Keith’s brain hurt.

“That was probably Lance, man Keithy you made a good impression that boy stopped by at the end of his shift 5 times now-”

“Shiro.” Pidge stopped him, and both their faces dropped.

“5? How long have I-” Keith is cut off by the door swinging open and Matt and a strange looking small man walking through.

Keith’s doctor- Dr. Slav is a very interesting man to say the least. Not only did he shut Shiro up, but annoyed him to the point of actually leaving the room, which Keith thought was impossible with Shiro’s iron will. He said something along the lines of that their uncleanliness was prohibiting Keith from healing. Regardless of the truth, Keith needed some time alone. 

Keith had been in and out of consciousness for a week with varied surgeries. He didn’t want to be cocky, but he has a faint memory of some medical personal calling him a miracle. He really did believe it considering all the damage his body sustained, he had a chance for an almost full recovering. He lost nothing, although he’d have to walk with a cane for the rest of his life. Keith needed time to think. He needed time to cope.  
-  
Hunk, his regular nurse was pretty much everything Keith could pray for. He made amazing creations for the staff, and what of it that Keith was allowed to eat, he secretly slipped him some, pretending that Pidge, who he was actually friends with, was eating. He understood Keith well, his drive and how he had to feel productive or he’d spiral into depression. He worked him hard everyday, forcing him to do all his stretches, go to therapy on time, eat and what not Keith rather just ignore.

Pidge was a technician at the city’s other hospital, but somehow wormed their way into transferring, mainly so Shiro and Matt could actually work, because no way in hell was Shiro aka Mother Hen™ going to let him be alone without someone he actually knew in the immediate vicinity. Pidge mainly just hung out with him on their breaks, they shared memes, and even helped him with his thesis because by god, he will do all his school work online if he fucking has to.

It was four days later, after a long night of nightmares reminding him of flashes of memory and pain that he was told he had a non family (Shiro and the Holt’s were marked as family by now), visitor. A tall man with a pair of bright blue eyes and tan skin entered his room slowly and quietly besides the swish of his windbreaker- which made Keith feel a bit warm inside.

“Hey Keith.” Then it hit Keith like a good punch from Pidge.

“Your real, oh my god.” Keith said before he could help it. After 3 days of thinking he was visited by an angel, and questioning his religious choices, he’d never once stop to think that this boy might actually be a human.

He throws his head back and laughs, like one you’d see the hot character do in a movie. “Yes, I’m real… can I?” He says pointing to a chair. Keith nods, sitting up. He looks intentlly at Keith, with his brows furrowed in an adorable way- and wow deja vu.

“Do you… remember me?” He finally says.

“I remember your face… like in flashbacks.” Keith says, feeling more honest that he meant to be. The man nods looking down at his feet.

“My name is Lance McClain, I was one of the first responders on sight of the accident… I was the one who was tasked with keeping you conscious and identifying you.” He says, still looking down. 

“Oh.” Keith says, letting the silence seep in, “Thanks I guess” He says lightly.

Lance just chuckles deeply, and tired. “I tried to visit you, but you were in the ICU for a couple days, and then unconscious, they were worried you’d slip into a coma, it's because you lost so much blood, and I’m sure they already explained the rest to you a thousand times, just don’t thank me.” He then looks directly into Keith’s eyes. “If I had done proper checks, your leg… it would be able to heal completely. Also your head…” He looks at Keith’s forehead with the same intensity as the ground, like by sheer will he could force it to unscramble itself, “You might have all your muscle memory back, and some motor skills… and whatever else. I’m so sorry Keith.”

It’s with that, that Lance looks so lost and sad. Like he ruined Keith on purpose, like a killer feeling remorse. Like he was tainted. Keith remembered feeling sick before when Lance gave him that sad pained look, like he knew it all his life, dreading it. He remembers thinking he never wanted to see it again on his face, and here he is sitting helplessly as this guy trips over his own self deprecation.

“No. No you didn’t.” Keith says with the most stubborn face he can muster. 

“What?” Lance recoils. 

“You didn’t do any of those things.” He crosses his arms, and Lance’s face is still bewildered, taken aback. A memory comes back to him, remembering how easy Lance’s face is to read, that he's an open book, and is always taken aback every time someone does end up reading him, right off the bat. “The doctor explained to me that the metal shifted because of spasms from nerves in my legs, that my leg might of been severed if it wasn’t for your team’s quick thinking, that without the brain stimulation that my body may of given up on the spot, or I might of slipped into a long term coma. The damage is from inevitable, and I wasn’t just lucky because of my own situation, I got lucky because of the people who were there to save me knew exactly what they were doing. So, yes, Thank you so much. Lance McClain, I’m truly in your debt.” Keith was fully sitting by then, staring intently back into his eyes, trying to find a contact rim or anything deeper.

“Un milagro ” Lance whispers almost too quiet for him to hear, and everything in Keith clicks into place. 

“So, I made it through, gonna let a crippled collect on that date?”  
Even though he can read Lance like a book, the one thing he doesn’t expect the boy to do is blush very hard, “I-I didn’t think you were talking seriously..” 

“So..”

“Yes! Uh yes, I’d love to.” He says, and blushes harder, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Keith smiles softly, so softly that those who knew him long would say he was possessed. Keith would take this hand of cards a thousand times over regardless of what would happen to himself, as long as the hand included Lance, saving him. Although this one was pretty good for now.

**Author's Note:**

> Yike!  
> I'm as cringey as it was to read 'Yikes' with no s.  
> I write a lot for myself, it helps me deal with anger, anxiety and depression, so I've decided to actually finish a piece and share it with everyone!  
> I really like the idea of Lance being a super charming Paramedic, like someone who just charms people to death, I also have an unhealthy obsession with medical AUs, I haven't found many in Voltron yet and I've exhausted all reading aspects in my other fandoms, so here I go making my own.  
> I also think I might continue to make Lance a DACA student in my works, sorry not sorry.  
> Also sorry if everything in this fic is wrong and impractical regarding motorcycles, hospitals, physics... everything.


End file.
